The artistic technique or emotional state where a piece of music, art, or a person displays a contradiction between the external appearance and the internal reality — without openly acknowledging it. In music, it refers to the contrast between energetic, upbeat melodies or performative confidence and lyrics that express vulnerability, insecurity, or pain. The juxtaposition reflects the emotional façade people often put on, hiding their true feelings behind a mask of positivity or strength. The key element is that the performance does not break the fourth wall — the song or performance never directly acknowledges the dissonance, instead allowing it to exist in the tension between sound and meaning.
1. Olivia Rodrigo's "Brutal" is a classic example of performative dissonance — the loud, confident sound masks the anxiety and frustration she’s feeling.
2. The song had an overwhelming sense of performative dissonance, where the upbeat rhythm clashed with the loneliness in the lyrics.
2. The song had an overwhelming sense of performative dissonance, where the upbeat rhythm clashed with the loneliness in the lyrics.
by Labourpp February 28, 2025
Get the Performative Dissonance mug."It was a Danstatic performance. good job!" - an appreciative response to a fantastic dance performance
by Joras August 11, 2010
Get the Danstatic Performance mug.Men who visibly engage in activities to demonstrate their masculinity by paradoxically doing things that are distinctly viewed as traditionally emasculating.
“You see those performative men over there?”
“Yeah, the one with 3 Labubus clipped to his fanny pack and the buff one with red nail polish proudly carrying a protein shake and a copy of Sapiens like it’s the Bible?”
“Yeah, the one with 3 Labubus clipped to his fanny pack and the buff one with red nail polish proudly carrying a protein shake and a copy of Sapiens like it’s the Bible?”
by Beep boop I hate AI August 5, 2025
Get the Performative men mug.by ExeeloguiexE April 17, 2025
Get the Cocaine Plus Journaling Equals No Performing mug.What you write when you release an update for a piece of software, but are too lazy to make a proper changelog.
by Sum-Yung-Gai January 26, 2023
Get the bug fixes and performance improvements mug.That guy smoked pot before the race and raced like a turtle. It was a performance diminishing drug somebody on the other team told him would make him faster.
by The Original Agahnim July 30, 2021
Get the Performance diminishing drug mug.It was a barnstorming performance.
by MsDai April 6, 2017
Get the Barnstorming performance mug.